The advent of computers, interactive electronic communication, the Internet, and other advances in the digital realm of consumer electronics have resulted in a great variety of enhanced programming, recording, and viewing options for users who view media content such as television programs. In implementing such enhanced options, the set-top box (“STB”) has become an important computing device for accessing media content services and the media content within those services. In addition to supporting traditional analog broadcast video functionality, STBs also support an increasing number of two-way digital services such as video-on-demand, internet protocol television (“IPTV”), and personal video recording.
An STB is typically connected to a cable or satellite, or generally, a subscriber television system, and includes hardware and software necessary to provide enhanced options for a subscriber television system at a subscriber location. Conventional STBs include a processor, communication components, and memory and are connected to a television or other display device, such as a personal computer. While many STBs are stand-alone devices that are externally connected to a television, an STB and/or its functionality may be integrated into a television or personal computer, a mobile device such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), or even into an audio device such as a programmable radio, as is known.
An STB is usually configured to provide users with a large number and variety of media content choices. For example, a user may choose to access a variety of broadcast television programs, pay-per-view services, video-on-demand programming, Internet services, and audio programming via an STB.
With such a wide variety of available media content, it is often desirable to restrict or block certain media content instances deemed inappropriate to minors and others. Moreover, it may be desirable to completely restrict access to any of the functions of an STB for one or more unauthorized users.
Parental control devices, such as V-chips, allow a parent or guardian to automatically block media content instances that contain material considered to be inappropriate to minors such as, but not limited to, sexually explicit material, violence, profanity, etc. However, many parental control devices are often cumbersome to program and are often easily bypassed. Moreover, parents or other authorized users often have to enter an access code or perform some other inconvenient task in order to access blocked programming.